I'm ordering an ERA! Seeking your experienced opinions

[DanEC]

I assembled my ERA - literally did the bonding, riveting, body work, painting, and all assembly. I bought the standard Jag rear assembly with the car and Keith Craft built my motor and rebuilt my Toploader. I have never tried to add the costs up because when you do your own body - paint - assembly - there are literally hundreds of small purchases for materials. In all honesty, I think you can probably have ERA have a car painted for the same cost of doing it yourself. I had not painted urethane before so I had to buy an air supplied resperator and suit, up grade my paint gun, construct a paint booth with lighting, filters, air handling unit. If I have much less than $7k in my body and paint I would be surprised.

I also skipped a couple of the pricer options since this is not a car that would be allowed on a track (no roll bar) with 5-pin KOs, standard brakes, standard rear suspension, vinyl seats. But I did get the stuff that visually makes the car look correct - street gas filler, smith gages, bumpers, ash tray, smooth hood, undercar exhaust, panel knobs, etc. The only real regret so far is I think I probably should have taken the leather seats although the vinyl ones are good looking.

I had KC build the motor with vintage parts - ported/polished steel heads, 428 service block. I found the 63 dual quad intake and distributor on Ebay and had both refinished before giving to him. With a stroker crank and mild cam it dynoed at 470 HP and 530 ft lbs. As Brent said up above, Kieth's dyno guy said their 428 CJ restoration motors dyno around 425 HP. Going with a fairly inexpensive set of aluminum heads can boost that by 30 - 35 HP without much work. I bought my Toploader from a friend and Keith rebuilt it for about $300. I think my motor probably finished up around $15k with clutch and flywheel and bellhousing. I sourced the fork, shifter, etc separately. I think a new Tremec transmission is around $3500 so that adds some change unless you can pick up a good one.

If I added it up with materials, I would be surprised if it came in under $70k, so having a turn key car done by ERA with a $18k motor/drivetrain and all the options you are speaking of for a bit over $90k would not surprise me in the least. I purchased my car just before ERA had one of their infrequent price hikes of a couple thousand dollars. I know you want it your way - but if a good one comes along used that satisfies 90% of what you need that may be the way to go. Sometimes the last 10% can be added on for not to much later. I wanted a street roadster so I had little choice except to build it myself. Also, that did allow me to finance it a little as I went through it's fabrication and then my assembly effort. I should have sold one of my other cars to finance this thing but it seems I've gotten to where I hang on to everything anymore.

Good luck

[blykins]

A new TKO 600 is $2399.

[Bobcat]

I have ERA 757 and have a little different take on some of the options . Keep in mind that I do track my car and drive the daylights out of it on the street .
Exhaust cutouts ..... make them a little larger before painting the body . Engine torque makes the DS pipes hit at the top of the cutout and the PS pipes hit at the bottom of the cutout when I nail it ( 482 with approx 600 hp ) .
I considered the leather seats and wool carpet , but felt the standard was much more forgiving if caught in the rain ( been there on the track and while driving ) .... not to mention cheaper .
Spax shocks are fine for the street , but I`ve had them on a shock dyno and there`s no comparison to a custom valved set of either Penske or Bilstein ( which I have ) ..... but expect to drop big dollars for either of them . Again , personal preferences .... why Smith`s gauges when SW work as well and are less $$$ ? You are building a replica , not an original . Besides , 99% of the people who see your car won`t know the difference .
Again , I track the car .... went with the ERA rear end and big front brakes and can brake with pretty much any of the cars I run with , with competition pads .
As far as the ashtray , a late friend of mine owned CSX 3114 and I have a picture of the cockpit with an ashtray in the tunnel and he was a non smoker ... this was a 427 car .
I went with the TKO 600R as I wanted a close ratio 5th for the track , but the standard would be a whole better for the street/highway .
Picking want you want can be a challenge , but also a LOT of fun .
Enjoy

[DanEC]

Originally Posted by blykins

A new TKO 600 is $2399.

Oops - looks like my memory is not too good. Brent is correct as usual.

[mrmustang]

Originally Posted by DrivinWest

I'm sure that will piss of a few CSX owners, but I hope all is safe here in the ERA forum

I do not believe you'll piss off any owners, it's your money, you buy what you want with it. Of course with that said, and having owned 4 ERA cobras to date (3-427SC's, 1-289FIA), I can say you are going to love it. Your plan is sound, maybe rethink your engine choice (200hp is enough to kill you in one of these cars), otherwise you are right on track.

Can't wait to see your build thread start.


Sincerely,

Bill S.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by mrmustang

Your plan is sound, maybe rethink your engine choice (200hp is enough to kill you in one of these cars), otherwise you are right on track.

Bill's giving you a wonderful tip. Think about a nice, custom built 390FE from Lykins. It will look no different than a side oiler or a 428, and it will have more power than you can ever possibly imagine. That just might save you close to ten grand. Maybe.

[DrivinWest]

Originally Posted by mrmustang

I do not believe you'll piss off any owners, it's your money, you buy what you want with it. Of course with that said, and having owned 4 ERA cobras to date (3-427SC's, 1-289FIA), I can say you are going to love it. Your plan is sound, maybe rethink your engine choice (200hp is enough to kill you in one of these cars), otherwise you are right on track.

Bill, I think I remember you from old Mustang message boards and (I think?) the Vintage Mustang forum. I believe you steered me away from a bad 66 Convertible in ~2000. Suffice it to say, I value your opinion greatly, and your affinity for ERAs is one of the main reasons that I've settled on that make.

You're right about the engine. So much of the car game is about bench racing with buddies in person and online, and I've likely succumbed to that. That said, I really don't care about the ponies under the hood. I had a bored/stroked 289 in my 67 A-Code Fastback that put out way more power than I had any interest in using on the street. Even on the track I've learned how little horsepower means compared to good driving*.

I'm off to do some rebudgeting based on an all-iron FE. Thanks again for your input!

* My wife bought me a two-day driving class at Porsche Driving School. The instructors drove base 911 Carreras while students drove Carrera S models with an extra 50 horsepower. Instructors pulled ahead in every turn and on every straight, and they were still sandbagging it to stay in view.

[Brooklyn-427]

Another idea could be ... order your kit with options have the body painted by who ever you select have the kit and parts shipped to your home gather anyother parts you may need , I'm sure the guys here will advise you on what your really gonna need. And have a Houston Texas build party weekend. You will be unindated with guys willing to help you get it built up and driving .. Just a idea and your save a ton of money gain friends experience and working knowledge of your own car and certainly be in budget

[DanEC]

Originally Posted by patrickt

Bill's giving you a wonderful tip. Think about a nice, custom built 390FE from Lykins. It will look no different than a side oiler or a 428, and it will have more power than you can ever possibly imagine. That just might save you close to ten grand. Maybe.

The only reason I've talked Keith Craft up over Blykins is due to his location you could visit his shop a little easier and even pick the engine up yourself. Both have a ton of experience and are competitive.

Seems that when I had Keith do my engine (about 4 years ago) the premium on a 428 block over a 390 block was about $500. I suspect that may have increased by now. Keith expressed that he typically prefers to use a new crank rather than spend money reconditioning a used one - so building a 4.125 inch or 4.25 inch stroker motor was very little additional. It's fairly easy to get up to 445 cu in from a 390 block. Dressed out nobody can tell a 390 from a 428 without tearing it down to a bear block. In a Cobra you can't hardly tell a 427 SO from a 428/390 without crawling under the car (good luck with that without jack, ramps or a lift).

[Dons427]

Why does the price list show $900 for the ERA rear end?
The complete, rebuilt/new unit with outboard brakes from a late model corvette is $5,200.
I own ERA #690, and I absolutely love it!
It is spec'd out very similar to what you are saying.
I agree with some others on the subject of cost.
Expect to be out-of-pocket about $87-K to $92-K for the complete car even if you handle some things that you can do.
Paint? Connecticut Custom Car in Enfield has done over 300 of these cars, and they just did my car last month.
They are fiberglass specialists and bake the car several times throughout the process.
The cost is not $7,500, it is more like $10,000, but it is worth it.
If you chose the wrong paint shop, and they don't know about fiberglass cars; you may have settling of the finish because the baking was not done.
I saw a car that they did 10 years ago, and it still looked like it was done the day before.

Don

[twobjshelbys]

Originally Posted by Brooklyn-427

Another idea could be ... order your kit with options have the body painted by who ever you select have the kit and parts shipped to your home gather anyother parts you may need , I'm sure the guys here will advise you on what your really gonna need. And have a Houston Texas build party weekend. You will be unindated with guys willing to help you get it built up and driving .. Just a idea and your save a ton of money gain friends experience and working knowledge of your own car and certainly be in budget

Let us know how that works out. Typically, not well. Many kits sit in garages for years only to be sold for 1/2 price. Unless you're an experienced assembler and have the tools and the patience and skills I wouldn't do my first Cobra as a kit. The exception would be a friend who rebuilds wrecked airplanes (and does aluminum work to boot).

[blykins]

I can get you 425 hp with a 390....and just so happens, I have a core 390 short block here.

I will echo the thoughts from the others though....Keith is an excellent choice and I second the motion on being close in distance to your builder.

[Bobcat]

Here`s something to consider .... don`t fixate on HP .... go for torque and let the hp fall where it may . Hp is basically a top end/high rpm figure while torque come in much lower . Torque does the work and is what makes driving the car in traffic etc a pleasure .
On the track , torque is what gets you out of the turns quicker . Brent can come up with a good torque/hp balance engine that I`m sure you`ll love .
When I was actively racing , torque let me get under someone coming out of a turn and be on the inside for the next one ..... especially on a short, tight track .

[blykins]

I can do a 390 with BBM or Survival Motorsports aluminum heads, Racetec forged pistons with a modern ring pack, Performer RPM intake, Quick Fuel carb, pulleys, brackets, fuel line, alternator, MSD distributor, etc. for $10500.

Now, that's not a lot of frills, no polished aluminum, powdercoating, just a nice basic engine that will be reliable and make really good power. Fully machined and assembled using the same process that I use on my full race stuff, dyno tested, etc.

[mrmustang]

Originally Posted by DrivinWest

Bill, I think I remember you from old Mustang message boards and (I think?) the Vintage Mustang forum. I believe you steered me away from a bad 66 Convertible in ~2000. Suffice it to say, I value your opinion greatly, and your affinity for ERAs is one of the main reasons that I've settled on that make.

That would indeed be me (Rec.autos.makers.ford.mustang, and well as the early VMF before they switched servers and I lost the same user name to some guy in Sweden, who has only posted once ), my past always seems to come back to haunt me (in a good way mind you)


Bill S.

PS: I like (and like my affinity for Mustangs, have owned) SPF, Contemporary, Unique, and FFR's as well

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by patrickt

Bill's giving you a wonderful tip. Think about a nice, custom built 390FE from Lykins. It will look no different than a side oiler or a 428, and it will have more power than you can ever possibly imagine. That just might save you close to ten grand. Maybe.

Yup, I'm in agreement with the engine advice as a budget-saving tool. Down the road, once you've gotten plenty of seat time, if you get the itch for more power, then R&R-ing an engine isn't the most difficult item to change on your ERA.

The only other piece of advice I'd offer is PLEASE don't paint it beige. Cobras shouldn't be painted beige.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by RodKnock

The only other piece of advice I'd offer is PLEASE don't paint it beige. Cobras shouldn't be painted beige.

Ahhh, but sometimes they are. And when they are, there is 100% agreement among the members of this forum that they are not just beautiful, but rather, they are absolutely gorgeous. Yep, even Mr. Mustang agrees on that....

[mrmustang]

Originally Posted by patrickt

Ahhh, but sometimes they are. And when they are, there is 100% agreement among the members of this forum that they are not just beautiful, but rather, they are absolutely gorgeous. Yep, even Mr. Mustang agrees on that....

Only when they are of the 289FIA variety and have a lime green nose stripe

[DanEC]

Originally Posted by blykins

I can do a 390 with BBM or Survival Motorsports aluminum heads, Racetec forged pistons with a modern ring pack, Performer RPM intake, Quick Fuel carb, pulleys, brackets, fuel line, alternator, MSD distributor, etc. for $10500.

Now, that's not a lot of frills, no polished aluminum, powdercoating, just a nice basic engine that will be reliable and make really good power. Fully machined and assembled using the same process that I use on my full race stuff, dyno tested, etc.

That sounds like a good deal even with shipping added on. Is that with a stock crank or a Scat stroker? Throw in a set of those nice Holman Moody valve covers and it would be hard to beat.

[tkb289]

Very good advice above … here is my 2 cents:

I had a great experience with ERA during my FIA build. I am 6'-4" as well, and ERA made a number of tweaks to my car to help me fit. Raised FIA dash / reduced padding in the leather 427 street seat / pedal assembly moved forward / slightly taller roll bar / smaller steering wheel. The driving position is comfortable and I look through the windshield, not over it.

In my case I opted to have the driver's seat on tracks for adjustability. It did add almost 1" to the effective height of the seat, but to me it's worth the trade off. Family and close friends can drive my Cobra, which is important to me. However, for some folks that is not an option they neither want nor need, and I get that.

As mentioned, ERA is well known for being 'slow' at times. If you have a deadline when you want the car completed, be sure to talk with Peter about this and put your order in sooner, rather than later. They engineer and build a high quality Cobra, but it takes time and certain things cannot be rushed. There could also be unforeseen schedule coordination issues with suppliers or sub contractors beyond ERA's control, so keep that in mind as well.

I can also highly recommend Connecticut Custom for body and paint work, they are absolutely excellent and very easy to work with.

Most of all, enjoy the process ... the planning, the building and the DRIVING!

Good luck with your build!